Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) put the hourly price up by 10 pence at all its hospitals, which includes Goole and Scunthorpe, and warned it could rise by 50p in the next four years.

The trust currently charges £4.60 for stays of more than 4 hours, with a one-hour stay setting motorists back £2.10.

Problems with queues and a lack of ticket machines has also frustrated visitors.

The outcry has pricked the ears of MPs, whose attention has been drawn to the drain that charges can put on those requiring hospital treatment, as well as their loved ones visiting them.

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Martin Vickers, Conservative MP for Cleethorpes which includes Barton-upon-Humber, is backing a new law which would put an end to hospital car parking charges.

Martin Vickers has backed a bill to put an end to hospital parking charges.

Tory colleague and ex-minister, Robert Halfon, has proposed a legal change through his Hospital Car Parking Charges (Abolition) Bill which had its first reading in Parliament last week.

Mr Vickers is one of 10 cross-party MPs sponsoring the Bill in the hope it will come into force.

Mr Halfon, in his speech introducing the bill, described hospital parking charges as an “NHS stealth tax”.

“They penalise the vulnerable when they most need support,” said the Harrow MP.

Similar Bills have been proposed in the past but have fallen flat without the Government’s support.

Last year, NLAG raised £2.28 million through parking charges, with £750,000 of that deemed “surplus” money which was reinvested into healthcare.

The Treasury has, in the past, been reluctant to try and find that cash from elsewhere, with NHS trusts in England and Wales said to use parking profits to pay for £200m worth of healthcare.

But Mr Halfon argues that if the NHS became more efficient in procuring its services – an area where reports calculate £1 billion could be saved – then that extra money could go towards funding free parking.

And there are early signs that Chancellor Philip Hammond, who gives his Budget speech on Wednesday at 12.30pm, is coming round to Mr Halfon’s way of thinking. He is rumoured to be seriously looking at scrapping the money-making schemes.

Sources have confirmed that the parking move is on the Budget scorecard – a list of considerations that could produce giveaways and result in a balanced spreadsheet – for Mr Hammond’s first Autumn Budget.

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It would bring England into line with Scotland and Wales, where charges were largely abolished in 2008.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to make announcements on borrowing powers for social housing and spending on infrastructure in the budget. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

A Treasury source said: “We’ve been looking at this and it is firmly on the agenda.”

Mr Vickers said it would be a “major win” on something he has campaigned on for well-over a decade if the Cabinet minister does scrap them.

“I have always supported the abolition of charges,” said the Tory backbench MP. “I feel, at a time when people are particularly vulnerable, we should be doing all we can to help them.

“I acknowledge that it raises about £200m a year and that, certainly in the case of NLAG, is reinvested in patient services. But the reality is that for many people it is, in effect, a hefty tax on being ill.

“I can think of a lot of other things that I would prefer not to spend £200m on and cancel out those charges.”

Mr Vickers also pointed out that those in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area face additional costs when they are sent for treatment at other hospitals.

Radiotherapy for cancer treatment, for example, requires patients to commute to Hull Royal Infirmary which incurs not only additional spending on petrol but also the £1.50 toll to cross the Humber Bridge.

“In our area there is a double-whammy as people are often sent elsewhere for treatment, such as Hull or Scunthorpe,” added the transport committee member.

“So they not only have to pay petrol costs, they are also being ‘taxed’ to park when they get there.”

NLAG said it feared that, if parking charges were scrapped, spending to maintain the car parks would have to come out of care budgets if they were not reimbursed by the Government.

“The trust has to provide parking for patients, visitors and staff and receives no central funding for this,” said a spokeswoman.

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“If the trust did not charge for parking then the costs associated with it for maintenance, repairs, lighting and security would still have to be paid but would come from funds which are currently spent on patient care.

“The trust has a duty to protect staff, visitors and patients who access the site 24 hours a day and so provides a 24/7 security service.

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“For the financial year 2016/17, the income from car parking was £2.28 million. After costs were deducted there was a surplus of £750,000.

“Each year the surplus gets put back into trust funds so it can be invested into patient care,” added the spokesman.

NLAG said concessions and free parking were available to some patients and visitors. Regular visitors can purchase a 7-day pass for the cost of 5 days parking while a “long-term ticket” can be bought for £4.60 after parking on-site for 7 days.

The trust’s three hospitals also offer free parking for cancer patients and have a flat rate of £2 per day for blue badge holders.